US Immigration from Lebanon

Hi Everyone,

In preparation for this tax season, I'm just wondering how I can claim my wife as a dependent. we got married and filed I-130 2 months ago. she has never been to the USA. I have done a lot of research online and I'm really confused.

as far as know she should have an ITIN to be able to claim her as a dependent.

Now, I have a certified copy of her passport and W7 form completed and signed by her.

So, do I have to have any additional documents? and what is the next sept to get her an ITIN.

Thank you so much, I really do appreciate you assistance,

Hello all,

My wife (Lebanon resident) and I (US citizen) are preparing to submit our I-130 packet online for the CR-1 visa in the coming days. We were hoping to get some feedback on how our submission looks and we are seeking any tips about if any additional pieces of evidence we might want to add.

US Citizenship Establishment:

-Scanned copy of my Louisiana birth certificate (front and back)

-Scan of each page of my passport

Bona fide marriage evidence:

-Marriage certificate (original in Arabic, and English translation signed by sworn translator)

-Copy of rental agreement signed by us and our landlord showing that we live together in Beirut (English and Arabic)

-1.5 page document telling our story of how we met, how our relationship developed, our marriage, etc.

-Flight itinerary from my mother's trip to Lebanon, showing that she has met my wife [unfortunately my mother does not have her passport at the moment so we could not provide a Lebanese passport stamp as evidence]

-Flight itinerary from my father's trip to Lebanon (which was unfortunately canceled due to the pandemic)

-Flight itinerary showing our upcoming honeymoon trip to Turkey

-Screenshot of e-mail from my mother to my wife welcoming her to the family

-Scan of Western Union money transfer I sent to my wife for "Family Support"

-Screenshot of Western Union money transfer my mother sent to my wife

-Screenshot of our WhatsApp message inviting friends to our wedding dinner

-Screenshot of my wife's e-mail correspondence with her US employer requesting they transfer her paycheck to my US bank account rather than try and send it to Lebanon

-Screenshots of our university transcripts showing that we attended university together in Beirut

-Screenshot of Facebook post announcing our marriage to friends

-Around 40 photos of us over the span of our relationship (2 years). Many include us with her parents, sisters, nieces and nephews, and formal occasions such as our wedding dinner, getting our paperwork signed at the courthouse, etc.

-Around 50 screenshots of our WhatsApp text logs over the span of our relationship (roughly 2 per month) + screenshot of our WhatsApp statistics showing that we have sent over 30,000 texts to each other in the past 2 years

-Screenshot of Zoom call where my wife met my father

-Screenshots of all of my flight itineraries over the past 2 years to show that although I do not have Lebanese residency and I always enter the country on a tourist visa, I have indeed been living in Lebanon for the past 2 years

Like many newlyweds living outside the US, we are not yet able to have much in the way of joined bank accounts and these type of things that are considered strong bona fide evidence. Should I add a Last Will & Testament (not sure how valid I can make this while living in Lebanon)? Should we add sworn affidavits from friends, or are these a waste of time? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Eli and Rana

Hello everyone so my wife's interview was scheduled today at the embassy but things didn't go very well. Once she got inside it wasn't even 5 minutes they returned her saying she have to upload her documents on gss and once she do that they'll reschedule her interview.I searched for the website and I found it but I didn't go through it and it says it is for the non immigrant visa eventhough she filed for migrant visa. Is anybody familiar with this situation and where you asked to upload your civil documents on the website ?

Hi, we were told by the US Embassy in Beirut that "Petitioners residing overseas in countries where USCIS does not have a public counter presence as in Beirut are required to file their Forms I-130 by mail with the USCIS Chicago lockbox. " We're just a bit concerned that sending everything through DHL is a bit expensive , so we're wondering what other Lebanese applicants have used to send their forms to the US. And can a Lebanese applicant confirm that they had to send by mail and filing online was absolutely not an option?

Thanks

Hello! I'm a U.S. citizen and my husband is Lebanese. We just got our I-130 petition approved (yay!) and are hoping that my husband can apply soon for the visa. I was told by my lawyer that the current administration has halted all immigration visa processing, including spouses, until 31 December 2020, but I recently saw that two interviews were scheduled at the Beirut Embassy last month. Does anyone have information contradicting what our lawyer said? When I checked the Executive Order, it did mention spouses of U.S. citizens as excluded from the EO but could it be that they meant for couples who had submitted their petitions before the EO was issued?